


Shelter

by khatra



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Dear god so much fluff, F/M, Modern AU, a play on the origin umbrella, adrien is awkward, marinette is more in tune with her ladybug side, super fluffy, tikki and plagg are animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-01
Updated: 2016-04-01
Packaged: 2018-05-30 12:01:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6423157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/khatra/pseuds/khatra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When a drenched model ends up in Marinette's store with an equally soaking black cat in his arms and asking for it to be dressed baby clothes, she takes an immediate liking to him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shelter

She wasn’t sure what was stranger: the fact that a famed Parisian model was in her shop or the fact that said model was currently soaking wet and holding the most ill-tempered looking cat she had ever seen. 

“Er- can I help you?” Marinette asked, peering at him from behind the sales counter. 

The model, who she quickly recognized as Adrien Argeste, turned towards her, a sheepish grin lacing his face. She may or may not have kept a picture of him when she was younger so seeing him here, in person, drenched from the torrential downpour rattling against her store windows and holding what could’ve been a black rag, was enough to make her feel faint. 

“Do you have any baby clothes?”

That was not what she had expected.

“Baby clothes? Why would you want-” she stuttered, bemused, “-ergh, yes, we do.” 

His grin stretched wider. “Any that would fit a cat?” 

“A cat?”

“Yes, a cat.” 

“Y-you want baby clothes for a cat?” 

He held up the sodden creature proudly. 

“For this cat.” 

The absurdity of the situation was enough for her confidence to slowly make its way back and loosen her tied tongue as the model created a massive puddle in the front of her store, gazing at her with hopeful doe eyes. As if she’d ever turn down an opportunity to give an item from her own clothing line to The Adrien Argeste, even if it was ultimately for a cat. It was a sorely needed step in the right direction. 

“Right this way,” she said cheerfully, dropping out of her chair behind the register and gesturing for him to follow. 

She squashed down her nerves as she heard the repetitive squishing sound of Adrien’s wet shoes following her. She was almost afraid to turn around in case her bored mind had conjured up the whole unusual episode. 

“Here we are,” she said upon reaching the baby section of the store. “If you don’t mind me asking… why didn’t you just ask for a towel or something?” 

“A towel?” Adrien gasped, almost appearing offended. “For this wonderful cat?”

Marinette stared at the evil eye the so-called “wonderful cat” was giving her and raised an eyebrow skeptically. 

Adrien grinned apologetically, “Yeah, I’m sorry for wasting your clothing on a non-human subject. I found this cat in the alley outside and thought it deserved something more than a step up from the old blanket it was in.” 

“Oh no, it’s fine, really! I didn’t mean to make it seem like a customer’s request wasn’t worth enough to me, especially that of a fashion expert like Adrien Argeste.”

His grin faltered, “Ah, so you do know me.” 

Marinette watched the young man, hunched over with his arms wrapped carefully around the pathetic mewling creature, and felt warmth flow into her chest.

“All I know is that there is a man who was kind enough to rescue an alley cat standing in my store and wanting to give it what it deserves.” She paused, staring at the grumbling ball of fur. “Even if it looks like that.”

Adrien laughed lightly and shifted the cat so that it was tucked under his left arm. 

“Adrien Argeste,” he said, holding out his right hand. 

She smiled, accepting his hand with her own.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

She shifted her attention back to the bristling cat. “And who would this be?”

“Plagg” 

“Plaque? I thought you wanted to give the cat what it deserves, not name it after dental bacteria.”

“No no, Plagg.”

“Oh, that’s so much better, my mistake,” she said dryly. 

They both winced as Plagg let out an unearthly wail. 

“Maybe it’s time to get him into something warm,” Marinette spoke, “and you should too. It doesn’t look like the rain’s going to be letting up anytime soon.” 

Adrien followed her gaze to the store’s tall arched windows facing out onto the streets of Paris. The rain was cascading down, creating ripples with the push of the howling wind that whistled through the cracks of the doorframe. A layer of mist seemed to drift over the cobblestone streets, making the outside world seem hazy from beyond the barriers of the clothing shop.

“Look, it’s clearly going to be at least a couple of hours until this storm dies down and I don’t think I’m going to have any customers in this weather anyway. Do you, uh- do you want to come up? I can make us some tea,” Marinette blurted, jerking her thumb in the direction of the staircase positioned discreetly behind her. 

Adrien brightened. “Are you sure? I don’t cause anymore trouble than I already have.” 

“Oh, it’s no trouble at all, really,” she fumbled, waving her arm dismissively. _Oh god_ , she thought, _I just invited my childhood celebrity crush into my apartment, even if he is a massive dork_.

She distracted herself from her anxieties by hastily grabbing one of the baby outfits from the rack and turning on her heel towards the stairwell. 

“But what if I’m a serial killer on the side?” Adrien said, his twinkling eyes betraying the ominous tone.

Marinette snorted, “Unless that cat of yours is actually a Trojan horse, I’ll take my chances.”

“Well then, after you, my lady,” Adrien said, graciously holding open the door leading to her flat for her to pass through.

“T-thank you,” she mumbled, turning away quickly to hide the blush blooming across her cheeks. _Get a grip_ , she chastised herself.

Her apartment was small but well lit with arching windows matching that of the store below. The tables were covered in scattered bits of fabric and empty mugs of coffee, a sofa covered in a silky blanket sporting a ladybug pattern, and sketchpads flung into almost every corner of the living room. 

Marinette groaned internally at the mess, quickly shoving some stray papers and pencils under the sofa. Of course her apartment would look practically apocalyptic on the day Adrien Argeste was there to see it. 

A gleeful bark sounded from her bedroom. Adrien clutched onto the hissing Plagg protectively, shooting a look of alarm at Marinette as a joyful ball of red hurtled towards where they were standing.

“Don’t worry. It’s just Tikki,” Marinette laughed, bending down to scratch the red husky behind the ears lovingly. “She wouldn’t hurt a fly.” 

“You named your dog Tikki,” Adrien teased, relaxing slightly, “and yet you question my naming of Plagg?” 

Marinette shrugged. “At least it doesn’t remind me of the dentist.” 

Adrien hesitantly bent down to ruffle the tuffs of fur on Tikki’s head, Plagg leaning forward from his arms to sniff the curious dog. She watched as Adrien grinned widely when Tikki suddenly licked the affronted cat’s head. 

“So, do you make it a habit to invite drenched strangers into your home?”

“Only if they have a cat. Not everyone can offer a first born, you know.” 

“Ah, right. And here I was thinking that I was special.”

“I can’t say I’ve had someone put the effort into turning their cat into a first born, though.”

Adrien let out a surprised laugh and gazed at her searchingly for a moment. She tried not to shift under his scrutinizing gaze until, with the slight widening of his eyes, something seemed to dawn on him and he hastily looked away with a slight flush. 

In his lap, Plagg was violently rejecting the warm baby sweater. Even Tikki maintained a watchful eye from a safe distance across the apartment. Plagg’s head seemed to be poking out from one of the armholes, a most indignant expression on the furry creature’s face, a blatant warning sign against the additional knitted pants. 

“Clearly my work isn’t to everyone’s liking,” Marinette mused. 

“Your work?” 

“Yeah, I design all these clothes,” she replied, slightly defensive. 

Adrien looked alarmed. “I didn’t mean to insult you, I just-” He paused, running his hand anxiously through his golden hair, “-I didn’t expect someone so young to be running their own store and designing the clothes in it. It’s a lot of work. Not like you couldn’t handle it, though. I’m sure many people can handle it. Not like you’re many people…” 

He sighed suddenly, “Wow, I’m really making a mess of this, aren’t I?”

“A mess of what?” Marinette asked innocently.

“A-Ah,” Adrien spluttered, looked like a deer caught in headlights. Marinette grinned at his blunder. 

“Do you have a tea preference?” she asked, sparing him from further embarrassment. “I have earl grey, orange pekoe, and this Chinese tea my mother likes to dump on me.” 

“Orange pekoe would be great, thank you.”

Marinette nodded and slipped into her kitchen. At least it was in slightly more order than the rest of the apartment: habits of being raised by a baker, she supposed. She filled the ruby red kettle with water and placed it on the stove. From the entrance of the kitchen she could see into the living room where Adrien was sitting on the hardwood floor, the cat looking thoroughly putout by his transition into the world of fashion. He seemed to be trying to coax it into staying calm and still, but his efforts were rewarded by garbled meowing and sharp claws. On a whim, she pulled out a carton of milk from the fridge and poured a portion into a small bowl.

Marinette walked back into the room and placed the bowl at Plagg’s feet. “Maybe this will help.”

Adrien looked up at her gratefully as the cat’s whiskers twitched and it drew closer to the bowl. With a look of mild disdain, it lapped at the milk, instantly calming down.

“And I didn’t forget you, Tikki,” Marinette called, fishing out a dog treat from her back pocket and throwing it into the waiting jaws of her husky. It thumped its tail happily against the floor. 

“T-thank you for everything, again,” Adrien said in the newfound stillness. “Paris isn’t exactly known for its kind inhabitants.” 

“It’s my pleasure,” she said, a soft smile gracing her lips as she looked at her unexpected guest. She was continually surprised by how he suddenly seemed unsure of himself; certainly a boy like that would know what kind of effect he had. And yet he sat there, legs spread awkwardly on the floor with pink across his cheeks. “It was a nice break from my routine.” 

“You know…” he began, halting his stroking of Plagg, “if you ever wanted to…”

A whistling noise erupted from the kitchen, startling Adrien out was what he was about to say. Marinette cursed the bloody kettle internally. _Of all the god damn times_. 

“What were you about to say?” she asked a few moments later, returning with two steaming mugs of tea and settling down on the floor beside him, ignoring the welcoming chairs in favor of his proximity.

He accepted the mug gratefully, lightly blowing on the billowing steam. “Um… just that, if you ever thought you might- if you ever wanted to…” 

The two sat facing each other, both turning redder by the minute in wake of his stuttering. _This is usually me_ , Marinette thought, her lips twitching slightly in amusement at the role reversal.

“…would you be interesting in working for my father’s fashion line?” 

_Oh_. Marinette bit back a wave of disappointment. It was still an amazing offer; she had no right to be disappointed, even if it wasn’t what she had hoped for. 

“Seriously? That would be great! But- do you really have the authority to hire me just like that? And I still have to run this shop so it would have to be part-time too, at least at the start.” 

“Don’t worry, once my father sees some of your work, it’ll be a done deal,” Adrien replied, though he still looked slightly pained as if he were holding something back. The expression was quickly smothered by a grin as he held up Plagg. “Look, you even come with your own model.” 

Marinette huffed. “And to think all this time, the key into the fashion industry was a scruffy cat.” 

“Wouldn’t have it any other way.” 

The two sat in amiable silence as they sipped their tea, the rain outside reduced to a soft patter on the windowpanes. Plagg was now curled peacefully in Adrien’s lap, a light purring emanating from the furry creature. I could get used to this, she thought, a wave of contentment falling over her as she sat in the warm glow of her apartment with a person who was becoming less of a stranger by the minute. It was surprising to her, how fast she felt at ease around him. Sure, she was waging a war internally and tramping down her confusing emotions, but his presence was somehow reassuring just the same. He was a kindred spirit. 

The two soon fell back into conversation, talking about their lives, hobbies; even what anime they had both seen. He laughed at her witty remarks and she groaned whenever he tried to counter them with a god-awful pun. Hours had passed before they noticed the fading light and the mugs, now empty, still resting in their hands. Plagg had at some point left to go sleep on top of a gently snoring Tikki. 

“I’ve extending my stay way too long,” Adrien said, jolting upright after seeing the time.

“Of course not! It’s been…” she struggled for the word, settling for a lame, “nice.” 

He smiled, gazing at her with a fond expression. “Yeah, it has.” 

He walked over to pick up a sleepy Plagg who let out an outraged meow at being so rudely disturbed. “Time to go, freeloader.”

Marinette led the way out of the apartment, Adrien casting one last wistful look around the apartment before dutifully following.

“Take this,” she said at the doorway of the shop, thrusting a red umbrella covered in black polka dots into his hand. “It’s still raining, even if it isn’t as bad as earlier.” 

“Thank you,” he said earnestly, his hand brushing against her own and lingering for just a moment too long before taking the umbrella from her grasp. He adjusted Plagg under his left arm and turned to her, pulling a card out of his coat pocket. 

“This is my personal number. You can call me about that job opportunity and…if you ever want to go for coffee or something,” he said with a lopsided grin, gesturing to Plagg, “I swear I won’t bring this killjoy next time.”

Warmth filled Marinette’s chest as she beamed at the grinning boy with the tousled blond hair, gazing down at her hopefully. Without a second thought, she took hold of his jacket and leaned upwards, placing a light kiss on his cheek. “I’d love to.” 

A large smile lit up Adrien’s entire face despite the blush that flooded his cheeks, almost dropping Plagg to touch where her lips had so briefly kissed.

“G-great!” he said, tripping slightly as he left the store under the protection of the red umbrella and into the misting rain. “I’ll talk to you soon, then!”

“Soon,” she agreed, smiling from where she leaned against the doorway. 

Marinette watched as Adrien walked down the street, stopping to turn and give her a wave of farewell before disappearing around the corner. She stood there for a while after he left, gazing at the spot where he last was with a soft smile on her face. She was glad she had lent him the umbrella as, in the distance, she heard a gentle rumble of thunder.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first fanfic ever. Dear god I am trash, my dignity is never coming back from the war. I need to bury myself in blankets now. Goodbye, world.


End file.
